   Natural Resources of Yavapai County - December 19, 2001 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County In 1990, my predecessor, Dr. Deborah Young, moved from southern Arizona (Cochise County) to Prescott where she served as the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension Director and Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent until 1997. One of the first projects she undertook was to develop a publication describing the history, topography, soils, climate, agriculture, water resources, and other natural resources that define Yavapai County. This not only helped her learn about the county's resource base, it informed local residents about the environment that we live in. We, I figured that ten years was long enough to go without an update, so recently Deb Young and I put our heads together and updated the 1990 publication: Natural Resources of Yavapai County (abbreviated NRYC). Many things have changed since 1990. The land and climate are the same, but the county population has increased creating new issues related to agriculture, land use, and water resources. Technology has changed too. The Internet has enhanced our ability to access data and communicate with others. The updated NRYC publication is Internet-based. This allows linkages to archived data and information resources that provide additional depth in that particular subject area. It also allows me to update the publication as new information becomes available. Don't worry if you are not on-line, the Cooperative Extension office can print out a copy and mail it to you. You may be thinking, "What does this have to do with me and my garden?" The natural resource base is the foundation of your garden and understanding these environmental factors helps you understand the assets, limitations, and framework that govern your garden and/or landscape. NRYC can also help inform you about issues related to growth and land-use planning. In the remainder of this column, I will outline some of the information contained in NRYC. NRYC contains some history and population statistics. You probably knew that Yavapai County's population has increased by over 550% since 1962. This growth has a dramatic effect on all other natural resource issues we currently face. Forty-four percent of the population lives in the eastern portion of the county (including the Verde Valley). Of the 8,122 square miles in Yavapai County, only 26% is privately owned. Topography and soils are described in general terms for several areas of the county. In a county that ranges from 1,900 to 8,000 feet, it is difficult to more than generalize. Rock types influence soil properties, which influence water holding capacity, nutrient availability, pH, erosion potential, etc. In the updated NRYC, I created climatograms (average monthly temperatures and precipitation) for both Prescott and Cottonwood using long-term averages. As you are probably aware, local temperatures and precipitation can vary greatly, especially during our monsoon season. One of the really nice features about the web-based publication is the ability to link to the Western Regional Climate Center for additional data. Weather data is available for several other Verde Valley sites including: Jerome, Tuzigoot National Monument, Montezuma Castle, Beaver Creek Ranger Station, Sedona Ranger Station, Oak Creek Canyon, and Flagstaff. Rather than average spring and fall freeze dates, the updated version of NRYC contains probabilities associated with freeze dates. For instance, there is a 90% probability of a freeze occurring in Cottonwood on March 24. However, there is only a 10% probability of a freeze as late as May 5. NRYC also includes the earliest and latest freeze dates for both spring and fall. The Western Regional Climate Center also has freeze probability data for the other weather station locations listed above. NRYC contains up-to-date agricultural production information for both crops and livestock. Livestock production, which equates to cattle in Yavapai County, is our major agricultural product. Yearly cash receipts from this production peaked in 1992 ($51,347,000), hit a low in 1995 ($23,223,000), and then steadily increased to 2000 ($79,028,000). This data was provided by the Arizona Agricultural Statistics Service. Information about rangeland resources and vegetation is detailed by major vegetative communities. In Yavapai County, these are ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper woodland, grassland, chaparral, desert grassland, and desert scrub. Water resources also receive well-deserved attention in NRYC. This section covers groundwater development in the Chino and Verde Valleys, as well as the current concerns about groundwater mining in the Prescott Active Management Area. General water quality information is also included. Another new section in the updated NRYC describes concerns related to noxious weeds. Noxious weeds (plants specified by law or regulation to be particularly undesirable, destructive and difficult to control) are spreading across many areas of Yavapai County. Followers of this column are no doubt aware that I take every opportunity to get on my "invasive plant soapbox". The final section of NRYC contains contact information about agencies and non-profit organizations that have natural resource management responsibilities and/or information. The revised Natural Resources of Yavapai County is available on-line at the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension website http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/ or by request by calling the Cottonwood Master Gardener hotline at 646-9113 extension 14. Find past Backyard Gardener columns or submit column ideas at the Backyard Gardener web site: http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. |